Assam: Commissioner to probe Kokrajhar ‘encounter’

GUWAHATI: A commissioner-level inquiry has been ordered by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday into the incident that took place in lower Assam’s Kokrajhar district on Saturday, where two Bodo youths, suspected to be militants of a newly floated outfit, were killed in an alleged exchange of fire with the police.
Guardian minister for Kokrajhar district, Ashok Singhal, on Tuesday told the media that the CM has directed Jayant Narlikar, commissioner, lower Assam division, to conduct the probe into the case.
On Saturday, the two youths, arrested earlier, were taking a police team to a camp of United Liberation of Bodoland (ULB) that was later busted by the security forces at Ultapani in the district, where the duo were killed during an alleged exchange of fire.
The order came after massive reactions and protests over the killing of the youths. Various organisations have called it a “fake encounter”.
The BTC Congress Coordination Committee slammed Sarma for failing to protect the unarmed youths and at the same time fired a salvo at Kokrajhar additional superintendent of police Surjit Singh Panesar for the alleged fake encounter.
In-charge of the BTC Congress Coordination Committee, Gorjan Mwshahary, said the two Bodo youths were killed in a “fake encounter” by Assam police.
“The government has failed to protect the tribal people. They were already in the custody of police and there was the court to determine their faults and punishment, but the police are taking the law into their hands. But Kokrajhar Police has started killing indigenous people in fake encounters,” he added.
Pramod Boro, Bodoland Territorial Council chief, said, “We don’t want violence in the BTR. We do not want prevalence of illegal arms in the BTR. We want peace here. The CM has already ordered an inquiry into the recent case.”